Trap-door.



0. L. LINK,

TRAP DOOR.

APP'ucATxoN man ranza, i914.

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,Mw-5 v jall OLIVER L. LINK, 0F ST. CHARLES., MISSOUBJI.

raar-noon.

. Speciilcation of Letters Patent.

Patented May 1918.

@riginal applieationiled may 18, 1912, Serial No. 698,124. Divided andthis application led Hay 23, 191e.

i Serial No. @M1493 To all whom it may concern: y

Be it known that I, OLIVER L. LINK, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at St. Charles, in the county of St. Charles and Stateof Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in'Irap-Doors, of which the following is a specication. v

rlhis invention relates to trap doors, and is more especially designedfor use in vestibule platforms of passenger cars, this being a divisionof my application filed May 13, 1912, Serial No. 698,124. vOne of theobjects of this invention is to construct a trap door of a single sheetof light metal which is reinforced by forming ribs thereon adjacent theedges thereof. l i

Another object is to provide improved means for securingthe door facingor flooring to the door.

Other and further objects will appear in the specification, and bespecifically pointed out in the appended claims, reference being had tothe .accompanyin drawings exemplifying the invention, an in which,

Figure 1 is a plan view of this improved trap door, part of the iiooringbeing broken away.

v Fig. 2 is a cross section taken on the line 2-2, Fig. 1. y

Referring to the drawings: 1 designates a trap door which is made oflight weight sheet metal and is reinforced' by the rectanlar rib 2 whichis formed adjacent the edge of the door. This door is further reinforcedby the pair of parallelly arranged ribs 3, said ribs merging at theirends into the rectangular rib 2. Formed between the ribs 2 and 3 areii'at surfaces 4;. Formed between the pair of ribs 3 is a iat surface 5JThis improved door is'secured to the sill 6 by the hinge members 7, oneportion 8 of ea'chvof said hinge members being secured to said sill, andthe other portions 9 thereof being secured to the under side of thedoor. Secured to the under side of the door against the'iiat surfaces 5is a door operating mechanism 10, said mechanism 10 having a connectingrod 11 which is-pivotally secured at 12 to the' sill 6.

In constructing the reinforcing. ribs 2 andV 3, grooves 13 are formed onthe door. These grooves are lled with a vplastic. material 14,

said material, when setting, adhering in the grooves. This lasticmaterial provides means for securing the flooring 15 to the door. Theooring is securedto the plastic material by nails 16 which are driventhrough'said liooring and said plastic material, said nails beingsomewhat longer than the depth of the grooves 13. As the pointed end ofthe nail engages the bottom of the groove, it will be deflected andturned, as shown at 17, which will cause the nail to clench the plasticmaterial, thereby holding the iiooring 15 securely in place. In order tohold the edges of the flooring 15 rmly against the trap door l, edgingstrips 18 are secured to the edges of said trap door by screws 19.

As it is desirable for trap doors of this character to be as compact aspossibleon account of being operatively mounted in a minimized space, itis necessary that the operating mechanism be situated as closely to theunder side of the trap door as possible. In this improved design of trapdoor', the door operating mechanism 10 is secured to the under side ofthe fiat surface 5, thereby sitting very closely against the trap doorso that, when the door is opened, n0 objectionable parts will protrudeinto the descending passageway leading tothe steps of a car.

If necessary, a pair -of door operating mechanisms, such as 10, can bemounted against the under side of the flat surfaces 4. rI`he rectangularrib 2, being located` adjacent the edges of the door 1, provides meansfor reinforcing the outer surfaces of the door, whereas the parallelribs 3 serve to reinforce the intermediate portion of the door. Thisdesign' of reinforcing will pro.- vide means of constructing a trap doorof light weight material.

What I claim is:

v 1. A trap door made from a plate of sheet metal, said plate'having a4rectangular rib formed thereon, and a pair of parallelly arranged ribsadjoining said rectangular rib, said plate 'having a fiat surface formedbetween said pair of ribs, said dat surface providing means of allowinga' door operating mechanism to be engaged closely against the under sideof said plate.

2. A trap door for vestibule platforms comprising a plate of sheetmetal, said plate toA

